Chantal Poteaux | Université Sorbonne Paris Nord / Sorbonne Paris Nord University (original) (raw)
Papers by Chantal Poteaux
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Organisms Diversity & Evolution, Nov 29, 2022
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Insectes Sociaux, Jul 19, 2019
The study of the social organization of ants may help to understand why some species are able to ... more The study of the social organization of ants may help to understand why some species are able to persist in natural forests after fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbances. The Neotropical ant Gnamptogenys bisulca has shown to be a biological indicator of habitat quality in Andean montane forests and we proposed to explain this characteristic by investigating its social structure and the spatial distribution of colonies at fine scale. In eight 100 m2 plots located in four forests in the western Colombian Andes, the position of G. bisulca colonies was recorded for spatial distribution and their social composition described: ergatoid females were found in most of the nests, isolated or together with normal queens. As ergatoids and queens were dissected to examine their reproductive status, it appeared that apparent polygyny represented, in fact, effective monogyny, with other potential reproductive females being unmated or inhibited. In the few cases of mixed colonies, a queen was always at the head of the colony. Local spatial distribution was random and did not fit the hypothesis of nesting by fission, as generally observed in the case of the presence of ergatoids. However, the social structure was significantly different according to the site, the most preserved forest showing no or rare ergatoids (but queens) compared to the other sites. Our results indicated that the presence of ergatoids in G. bisulca may help colonies to adapt to slightly disturbed habitat contexts.
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Ecology and Evolution, 2022
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Figure 4. Digital photographs showing the head (full face) and pronotal hump of representative sp... more Figure 4. Digital photographs showing the head (full face) and pronotal hump of representative specimens belonging to the four delimited morphospecies originally assigned to Ectatomma ruidum: A, E. gibbum; B, E. sp. 'ruidum 1'; C, E. sp. 'ruidum 2'; D, E. sp. 'ruidum 3'; E, E. sp. 'ruidum 4'; F, E. sp. 'ruidum 2 X sp. ruidum 3'.
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Chemoecology, 2020
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Small queens in the ant Ectatomma tuberculatum: a new case of social parasitism
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32 - Alternative reproductive systems and their evolutionary consequences , Oral Presentation
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Figure 2. Phylogram derived from the Bayesian analysis performed with the COI marker excluding al... more Figure 2. Phylogram derived from the Bayesian analysis performed with the COI marker excluding all potential numts and hybrids. Black circles near branches are Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥0.95. Colour lines refer to the main lineages recovered. Taxon names refer to the delimited morphospecies.
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Figure 1. Map showing the sampled localities for the specimens assigned to Ectatomma ruidum and E... more Figure 1. Map showing the sampled localities for the specimens assigned to Ectatomma ruidum and Ectatomma gibbum. The taxon names refer to the delimited morphospecies.
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Bull Fr Peche Piscic, 1997
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Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2015
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Animal Behaviour, 2014
ABSTRACT Dominance hierarchies allow group-living animals to regulate the partitioning of reprodu... more ABSTRACT Dominance hierarchies allow group-living animals to regulate the partitioning of reproduction, but the recognition systems underlying dominance interactions remain equivocal. Individual recognition, a cognitively complex recognition system, is often posited as an important mechanism for the regulation of linear dominance hierarchies because of its high level of precision. However, providing it actually allows a fine-scale discrimination of the individuals’ statuses, status discrimination may offer an alternative, simpler, recognition system allowing the same level of precision while saving the memory-related costs associated with individual recognition. With the aim of disentangling the cognitive mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of hierarchies, we here studied the within-group recognition systems in the ant Neoponera apicalis, where orphaned workers compete over male parentage in a linear hierarchical structure. Overall, we found that status discrimination abilities were in fact sufficient for the establishment and stabilization of linear hierarchies. The observed level of accuracy allowed fine-scale discrimination of all top rankers’ hierarchical status, and thus translated into a functional individual discrimination of all competing workers at the top of the hierarchy. Low-ranking workers did not exhibit such fine-scale status discrimination. We moreover showed that a putative signal of fertility, 13-methylpentacosane, precisely labelled the workers’ position in the hierarchy, thereby providing the recognition cue likely to explain the individuals’ discrimination abilities. This signal could therefore play a key role in the regulation of the reproductive conflict in this species. In contrast with the traditional view, our study shows the implication of a cognitively simple but equivalently efficient recognition system during the emergence and stabilization of a linear dominance hierarchy.
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PLoS ONE, 2010
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Bioacoustics-the International Journal of Animal Sound and Its Recording, 2021
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Reproductive isolation between geographically separated populations is generally considered the m... more Reproductive isolation between geographically separated populations is generally considered the most common form of speciation. However, speciation may also occur in the absence of geographic barriers due phenotypic and genotypic factors such as chemical cue divergence, mating signal divergence and mitonuclear conflict. Here we performed an integrative study based on two genome-wide techniques, 3RAD and ultraconserved elements, coupled with cuticular hydrocarbon and mtDNA sequence data, to assess the species limits within the E. ruidum species-complex, a widespread and conspicuous group of Neotropical ants for which heteroplasmy has been recently discovered in some populations from southeast Mexico. Our analyses indicate the existence of at least five distinct species in this complex, two widely distributed along the Neotropics and three that are restricted to southeast Mexico and that apparently have high levels of heteroplasmy. We found that species boundaries in the complex did n...
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Oecologia
Although littermates in altricial mammals usually experience highly similar environmental conditi... more Although littermates in altricial mammals usually experience highly similar environmental conditions during early life, considerable differences in growth and health can emerge among them. In a study on subadults of a European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) population with low MHC polymorphism, we tested whether litter-sibling differences in endoparasitic coccidia load and body mass at the end of the vegetation period were associated with within-litter differences in starting body mass (measured around 2 weeks prior to weaning) and in immune-genetic (MHC class II DRB) constitution. We hypothesized that siblings with a lighter starting mass might be more susceptible to endoparasite infections and thus, negative effects of a more unfavourable MHC constitution might be particularly pronounced in such individuals. Within-litter comparisons revealed that animals with a lighter starting mass reached a relatively lower body mass in autumn. Furthermore, there were indications for an allele-specific heterozygote advantage, as animals with heterozygous combinations of the allele Orcu-DRB*4 had relatively lower hepatic coccidia loads than their littermates with certain homozygous allele combinations. Consistent with our hypothesis, significantly higher hepatic coccidia loads and tendentially lower autumn body masses in homozygous compared to heterozygous individuals for the allele Orcu-DRB*4 were evident in initially lighter but not in heavier siblings, suggesting synergistic effects between an unfavourable MHC constitution and a light starting mass. Taken together, these effects might lead to notable differences in fitness among litter siblings, as a low body mass and a high endoparasite burden are key factors limiting young rabbits' survival during winter.
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Scientific Reports
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Organisms Diversity & Evolution, Nov 29, 2022
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Insectes Sociaux, Jul 19, 2019
The study of the social organization of ants may help to understand why some species are able to ... more The study of the social organization of ants may help to understand why some species are able to persist in natural forests after fragmentation and anthropogenic disturbances. The Neotropical ant Gnamptogenys bisulca has shown to be a biological indicator of habitat quality in Andean montane forests and we proposed to explain this characteristic by investigating its social structure and the spatial distribution of colonies at fine scale. In eight 100 m2 plots located in four forests in the western Colombian Andes, the position of G. bisulca colonies was recorded for spatial distribution and their social composition described: ergatoid females were found in most of the nests, isolated or together with normal queens. As ergatoids and queens were dissected to examine their reproductive status, it appeared that apparent polygyny represented, in fact, effective monogyny, with other potential reproductive females being unmated or inhibited. In the few cases of mixed colonies, a queen was always at the head of the colony. Local spatial distribution was random and did not fit the hypothesis of nesting by fission, as generally observed in the case of the presence of ergatoids. However, the social structure was significantly different according to the site, the most preserved forest showing no or rare ergatoids (but queens) compared to the other sites. Our results indicated that the presence of ergatoids in G. bisulca may help colonies to adapt to slightly disturbed habitat contexts.
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Ecology and Evolution, 2022
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Figure 4. Digital photographs showing the head (full face) and pronotal hump of representative sp... more Figure 4. Digital photographs showing the head (full face) and pronotal hump of representative specimens belonging to the four delimited morphospecies originally assigned to Ectatomma ruidum: A, E. gibbum; B, E. sp. 'ruidum 1'; C, E. sp. 'ruidum 2'; D, E. sp. 'ruidum 3'; E, E. sp. 'ruidum 4'; F, E. sp. 'ruidum 2 X sp. ruidum 3'.
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Chemoecology, 2020
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Small queens in the ant Ectatomma tuberculatum: a new case of social parasitism
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
32 - Alternative reproductive systems and their evolutionary consequences , Oral Presentation
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Figure 2. Phylogram derived from the Bayesian analysis performed with the COI marker excluding al... more Figure 2. Phylogram derived from the Bayesian analysis performed with the COI marker excluding all potential numts and hybrids. Black circles near branches are Bayesian posterior probabilities ≥0.95. Colour lines refer to the main lineages recovered. Taxon names refer to the delimited morphospecies.
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Figure 1. Map showing the sampled localities for the specimens assigned to Ectatomma ruidum and E... more Figure 1. Map showing the sampled localities for the specimens assigned to Ectatomma ruidum and Ectatomma gibbum. The taxon names refer to the delimited morphospecies.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bull Fr Peche Piscic, 1997
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Chemical Ecology, 2015
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Animal Behaviour, 2014
ABSTRACT Dominance hierarchies allow group-living animals to regulate the partitioning of reprodu... more ABSTRACT Dominance hierarchies allow group-living animals to regulate the partitioning of reproduction, but the recognition systems underlying dominance interactions remain equivocal. Individual recognition, a cognitively complex recognition system, is often posited as an important mechanism for the regulation of linear dominance hierarchies because of its high level of precision. However, providing it actually allows a fine-scale discrimination of the individuals’ statuses, status discrimination may offer an alternative, simpler, recognition system allowing the same level of precision while saving the memory-related costs associated with individual recognition. With the aim of disentangling the cognitive mechanisms underlying the formation and maintenance of hierarchies, we here studied the within-group recognition systems in the ant Neoponera apicalis, where orphaned workers compete over male parentage in a linear hierarchical structure. Overall, we found that status discrimination abilities were in fact sufficient for the establishment and stabilization of linear hierarchies. The observed level of accuracy allowed fine-scale discrimination of all top rankers’ hierarchical status, and thus translated into a functional individual discrimination of all competing workers at the top of the hierarchy. Low-ranking workers did not exhibit such fine-scale status discrimination. We moreover showed that a putative signal of fertility, 13-methylpentacosane, precisely labelled the workers’ position in the hierarchy, thereby providing the recognition cue likely to explain the individuals’ discrimination abilities. This signal could therefore play a key role in the regulation of the reproductive conflict in this species. In contrast with the traditional view, our study shows the implication of a cognitively simple but equivalently efficient recognition system during the emergence and stabilization of a linear dominance hierarchy.
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PLoS ONE, 2010
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Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Bioacoustics-the International Journal of Animal Sound and Its Recording, 2021
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Reproductive isolation between geographically separated populations is generally considered the m... more Reproductive isolation between geographically separated populations is generally considered the most common form of speciation. However, speciation may also occur in the absence of geographic barriers due phenotypic and genotypic factors such as chemical cue divergence, mating signal divergence and mitonuclear conflict. Here we performed an integrative study based on two genome-wide techniques, 3RAD and ultraconserved elements, coupled with cuticular hydrocarbon and mtDNA sequence data, to assess the species limits within the E. ruidum species-complex, a widespread and conspicuous group of Neotropical ants for which heteroplasmy has been recently discovered in some populations from southeast Mexico. Our analyses indicate the existence of at least five distinct species in this complex, two widely distributed along the Neotropics and three that are restricted to southeast Mexico and that apparently have high levels of heteroplasmy. We found that species boundaries in the complex did n...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Oecologia
Although littermates in altricial mammals usually experience highly similar environmental conditi... more Although littermates in altricial mammals usually experience highly similar environmental conditions during early life, considerable differences in growth and health can emerge among them. In a study on subadults of a European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) population with low MHC polymorphism, we tested whether litter-sibling differences in endoparasitic coccidia load and body mass at the end of the vegetation period were associated with within-litter differences in starting body mass (measured around 2 weeks prior to weaning) and in immune-genetic (MHC class II DRB) constitution. We hypothesized that siblings with a lighter starting mass might be more susceptible to endoparasite infections and thus, negative effects of a more unfavourable MHC constitution might be particularly pronounced in such individuals. Within-litter comparisons revealed that animals with a lighter starting mass reached a relatively lower body mass in autumn. Furthermore, there were indications for an allele-specific heterozygote advantage, as animals with heterozygous combinations of the allele Orcu-DRB*4 had relatively lower hepatic coccidia loads than their littermates with certain homozygous allele combinations. Consistent with our hypothesis, significantly higher hepatic coccidia loads and tendentially lower autumn body masses in homozygous compared to heterozygous individuals for the allele Orcu-DRB*4 were evident in initially lighter but not in heavier siblings, suggesting synergistic effects between an unfavourable MHC constitution and a light starting mass. Taken together, these effects might lead to notable differences in fitness among litter siblings, as a low body mass and a high endoparasite burden are key factors limiting young rabbits' survival during winter.
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Scientific Reports
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Asexual queen succession (AQS), in which workers, soldiers and dispersing reproductives are produ... more Asexual queen succession (AQS), in which workers, soldiers and dispersing reproductives are produced sexually while numerous non-dispersing queens arise through thelytokous parthenogenesis, has recently been described in three species of lower termites of the genus Reticulitermes. Here, we show that AQS is not an oddity restricted to a single genus of lower termites, but a more widespread strategy occurring also in the most advanced termite group, the higher termites (Termitidae). We analysed the genetic structure in 10 colonies of the Neotropical higher termite Embiratermes neotenicus (Synter-mitinae) using five newly developed polymorphic microsatellite loci. The colonies contained one primary king accompanied either by a single primary queen or by up to almost 200 neotenic queens. While the workers, the soldiers and most future dispersing reproductives were produced sexually, the non-dispersing neotenic queens originated through thelytokous parthenogenesis of the founding primary queen. Surprisingly, the mode of thelytoky observed in E. neotenicus is most probably automixis with central fusion, contrasting with the automixis with terminal fusion documented in Reticulitermes. The occurrence of AQS based on different mechanisms of ploidy restoration raises the hypothesis of an independent evolutionary origin of this unique reproductive strategy in individual lineages of lower and higher termites.
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